By Tom Breihan on August 4, 2011 at 12:25 p.m. EDT

On U2's 1991 album Achtung Baby, the band transitioned from earnest rockers to postmodern art-pop stars. In retrospect, it's amazing how smoothly they managed it. The album kept their soaring, world conquering melodies intact, but it also introduced slick textures and dance beats into the mix. When the band played in Chicago last month, they opened their set with four straight Achtung Baby tracks. It was awesome.

Like another landmark album I could name, Achtung Baby turns 20 this year. And like that album, Achtung will soon become the centerpiece of a massive box-set reissue, as U2's website has announced. The Achtung Baby anniversary edition is due October 31 from Universal, and it'll be available in five different packages, ranging from a reissue of the original album itself with no bonus material to a massive, absurdly inclusive "Uber Deluxe Edition", which features all the bonus material that anyone could possibly want.

By Ryan Dombal on October 21, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. EDT

Photo by Brian Leli

According to an interview with Bono in the Australian newspaper The Age, U2 are working on a new album with producer/Gnarls Barkley member Danger Mouse, which they hope to release next year. (Via NME.)

But now the U2 shows are back on for next year, and the band just announced the opening acts on their website. Interpol will open some of the shows, and so will the increasingly huge art-poppers Florence and the Machine. In way less exciting news, Lenny Kravitz, the Fray, and Snow Patrol will also open some of the shows.

U2 are on tour in Europe right now, with Interpol opening. And then they head Down Under with Jay-Z. We've got all U2's dates below.

By Ryan Dombal on August 9, 2010 at 12:25 p.m. EDT

Busy weekend for new tracks. Cut Copy took advantage of the big Lollapalooza stage to show off something from their forthcoming LP, which is due in January. Fleet Foxes singer Robin Pecknold continued to debut material during live solo sets, playing another track (that may or may not be on Fleet Foxes' upcoming LP) at a show in Portland over the weekend. Watch video of those-- along with newness from Weezer, and U2-- after the jump:

By Tom Breihan on May 28, 2010 at 11:40 a.m. EDT

When an enterprise as vast as a U2 stadium tour falls apart, the ripple effects are considerable. Interpol were scheduled to open some of U2's forthcoming North American shows, but Bono's recent emergency back surgery forced U2 to postpone their American tour. Consequence of Sound points out that Interpol's tour plans are now in disarray, too, since they'd planned their headlining shows around those big opening gigs. Now, only four Northeastern shows remain, though Interpol are still set to open for U2 in Europe this fall.